


take me in your arms now (baby)

by icepools



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drunken Confessions, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:13:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22744588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icepools/pseuds/icepools
Summary: "Why are you crying?”This question seems to take a lot out of Lucas. He hums and sniffles and hiccups some more before answering. “You.”or: lucas calls will late at night with something important to say.
Relationships: Will Byers/Lucas Sinclair
Comments: 7
Kudos: 45





	take me in your arms now (baby)

_Buzz._

_Buzz. Buzz._

This is what feels like the seventeenth time Will’s phone has gone off. He’s managed to ignore it thus far; it’s two in the morning and he’d like to be asleep. (Joyce doesn’t allow Do Not Disturb, she wants him to be reachable at all times.)

But it’s gone too far. Either everyone is in the group chat making fun of his “early” bedtime or someone’s in trouble.

There is no in between.

So with a heavy body and heavy heart he picks up his phone from his bedside table, the bright light of his lockscreen (currently a picture of him and Lucas doing peace signs after seeing _Jojo Rabbit_ ) blinding him for a second.

After Will’s eyes adjust to the change in brightness, he makes out what his notifications are from.

Seventeen fucking messages from Lucas, which means someone’s in trouble.

Suddenly wide awake, Will unlocks his phone and reads through the first message.

**Lucas (1:56AM):** _hhi_

**Lucas (1:56AM):** _will_

**Lucas (1:57AM):** _henloo_

**Lucas (1:57AM):** _r qu asleep_

**Lucas(1:57AM):** :9

**Lucas (1:57AM):** _:( *_

**Lucas (1:57AM):** _wwhy u gotta dho that_

**Lucas (1:58AM):** _herue i am_

**Lucas (1:59AM):** _ready to ctalk_

**Lucas (1:59AM):** _amnd xur asleeyp_

**Lucas (2:00AM):** _thawts hopmohobic didnt u know_

**Lucas (2:01AM):** _answre mde whore_

**Lucas (2:03AM):** _WAEK UP_

**Lucas (2:04AM):** _:((((((((((_

**Lucas (2:06AM):** _lol im cryinzg now_

**Lucas (2:07AM):** _pls wihll i wandna talk to u_

**Lucas (2:07AM):** _nemed to_

**Will (2:09AM):** _so you’re drunk?_

**Lucas (2:09AM):** _WILLC_

**Lucas (2:10AM):** _u diidnt text me baxk :(_

**Will (2:10AM):** _no i didnt_

**Will (2:10AM):** _sorry._

**Will (2:10AM):** _are u okay?_

**Will (2:11AM):** _need me to pick u up?_

**Lucas (2:11AM):** _NMO DONT_

**Lucas (2:12AM):** _dont wanna ksee u rn_

**Will (2:12AM):** _?_

**Lucas (2:13AM):** _u cant nsee me qlike this_

**Will (2:13AM):** _like what? drunk?_

**Lucas (2:13AM):** _no_

**Lucas (2:14AM):** _cryqing_

**Lucas (2:14AM):** _u cant see mje cry will_

**Will (2:14AM):** _lucas please calm down_

**Will (2:15AM):** _can i call you? i cant understand a word you’re saying._

**Will (2:15AM):** _please?_

**Lucas (2:15AM):** _xno_

**Lucas (2:17AM):** _will please u cant knmow i cannt talk to u youll know and youll hahte me pleahse_

**Will (2:17AM):** _i could never hate you lucas_

**Will (2:17AM):** _im gonna call you now okay?_

**Will (2:18AM):** _everythings ok youre ok_

With shaking hands, Will ignores the typing bubble that’s popped up and calls Lucas’ contact.

It rings for a couple seconds, and then he picks up. Will opens his mouth to start talking, but he’s immediately interrupted by Lucas hanging up the phone. _Asshole._

He calls again. Lucas answers and hangs up again.

And then it happens again. 

It’s on his third attempt that Lucas picks up for more than half a second. When Will isn’t immediately cut off, he gets right down to business.

“Lucas? You there?” he asks, loud enough to hear but still soft enough that it doesn’t startle Lucas in his emotional and drunken state.

There’s silence for a moment, save for what sounds like music playing in the background, but then Lucas sniffles a little. He hums his response, and it’s enough for Will so he takes it.

“What’s happened? Why are you crying? Why are you—” Will catches the information overload he’s giving Lucas and dials it back again. “Where are you, Lucas?”

“ _Party,_ ” Lucas hiccups out, sniffling afterwards. Will hums quietly in an attempt to get him back down to Earth.

“Good, good, okay. Who’s party?

“ _Don’t,_ ” he hiccups again, “ _Don’t know._ ”

Will sighs, “That’s okay, no worries. Now, um, why are you crying?”

This question seems to take a lot out of Lucas. He hums and sniffles and hiccups some more before answering. “ _You._ ”

Will chokes on his response. “What do you mean?” he says, soft and hesitant.

“ _You. Just. You?_ ” Lucas seems to snort after his second _you._ Definitely drunk.

“What’s that mean, though, Lucas? I don’t understand what you mean.” 

After voicing the question, Will removes his covers from his body and stands up to go change and use the bathroom. No matter how this conversation goes, he knows that Lucas needs to picked up and Will intends to do so.

“ _You make me sad, Will. You’re too perfect,_ ” Lucas huffs. His words seem a little slurred. That’s what Will tells himself as he continues—Lucas is _drunk._ “ _You’re too nice and you do too much for me. You’re up at two in the morning talking to me. That’s stupid, Will._ ”

Will snorts at that, pulling on a pair of sweats and his sweater. He makes his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth quietly. “You’re right. Wanna tell me where you are now?” he attempts again, whispering so he doesn’t wake Joyce or El. (Assuming she’s not at this party with Lucas.)

He puts his microphone on mute as he uses the toilet, listening to Lucas talk. “ _I shouldn’t be talking to you. I get mouthy when I’m drunk. And emotional. And touchy. This is bad. You should hang up._ ”

Will does not hang up. Instead, he says, “What are you getting so worked up over?” and quickly brushes his teeth when he’s waiting for Lucas’ answer.

It takes a couple minutes, and Will gives him the time to think it through. There’s sighs and hums and hiccups, and then there’s Lucas’ voice again.

“ _I’m in love with you,_ ” he says, and Will chokes on the water in his mouth. _What the actual fuck?_ Lucas isn’t done. “ _I’m so in love with you it hurts. Whenever I fucking look at you I wanna kiss you. In Ancient Civs when you help me with the notes and then you look at me and smile my heart goes crazy and every time you do it I wanna kiss you._ ”

It’s Will’s heart’s turn to go crazy, now. He can feel it hammering inside his chest, and if he doesn’t move he can _hear_ it. He opens his mouth to say something, _anything,_ to get Lucas to stop talking about how he’s in love with him, but he _keeps fucking going._

“ _I don’t know how to tell you that, though. I think about it a lot, but I never know. Because I know you don’t love me the way I do, and that’s okay, I’ll love you forever even if you don’t, but I’d really like to tell you._ ”

Despite himself, and despite the horrifying circumstances, Will laughs a little. “You just did, Lucas,” he says. Lucas gasps dramatically on the other line.

“ _I did! That’s good. Or maybe it’s not. I don’t think I was supposed to tell you. But I have, so, yeah. I love you, Will._ ”

Selfishly, Will wants to say the same. Tell Lucas he _does_ love him like he loves Will, and then when he picks him up from the party, they’ll kiss and it will be cliche and it will be beautiful.

He doesn’t say he loves Lucas.

“Who are you with?” he asks instead. Lucas seems to shift on the other line. 

“ _Max_ _. And Mike. And El. Max and Mike are fucking hammered,_ ” Lucas laughs at the word hammered for a while, then continues. “ _El’s designated driver. She wants to stay._ ”

Will has made it outside, now. He’s in his car and he’s connecting his phone to bluetooth so he can hear Lucas while he drives. He opens his messages and begins typing a message to El. (Lucas is going on about why he loves Will, which is a bit hard to listen to but he’s trying to ignore it.)

**Will (2:51AM):** _whos house are you guys at_

**Will (2:52AM):** _el_

**Will (2:52AM):** _el come onnnn_

**Will (2:53AM):** _answer me you fucking whore_

**El (2:54AM):** _hi sorry_

**El (2:54AM):** _kathy morris’ place its by mike’s_

**El (2:55AM):** _u picking up lucas?_

**Will (2:55AM):** _yeah_

**El (2:56AM):** _good. he was a fucking mess lol_

**Will (2:56AM):** _-_-_

**Will (2:57AM):** _don’t be home too late see u_

He closes their conversation before El replies; he knows where he’s going, now, so he doesn’t need her. When he starts listening to Lucas again, he realizes he’s stopped talking. And he’s...crying?

“Lucas? I’m driving to get you now. Are you okay?” he asks gently. He switches gears and backs out of the driveway, waiting for Lucas to respond.

“ _I love you too much._ ” he says after a while. Will inhales deeply. _Serenity fucking now._

“I’m sorry,” It’s a stupid response, but it’s all he can think of in the moment. Lucas hiccups and sniffles a little. _Still drunk._

“ _It’s okay. I’ll manage,_ ” he mumbles, “ _You’re worth it._ ”

Will needs him to stop. Lucas needs to stop saying these things because he’s actually starting to forget that he’s drunk and _believe him._

“Do you want me to keep talking to you?” Will asks. Sometimes Lucas gets lonely when he’s drunk. Will doesn’t like when that happens.

“ _Yes._ ” Lucas says back. He sounds drained. He’ll probably pass out in the car.

Will starts talking about his latest art project when he hears a knock from the other end. Lucas must be in the bathroom. He closes his mouth and listens to the interaction.

“ _Lucas, it’s El. Open the door, please._ ”

The door opens with a creak and there’s some shuffling and whining before Will hears El’s voice again, clearer this time.

“ _Hi. Sorry I’m not taking him—oh, shut_ up, _Lucas! You know, Mike and Max are fucking wasted, so,_ ”

Will snorts. “Don’t worry about it. I can handle him.”

There’s more whining in the background, and something like _let me talk to him!_

El sighs loudly as Will laughs. He stops after he remembers that apparently Lucas is in love with him, and then Lucas gets the phone back.

“ _Hi,_ ” he says, slurred, “ _I missed you._ ”

“Been about a minute, Lucas,”

“ _I still missed you. Are you almost here? I wanna see you,_ ”

Will bites his lip as he turns a corner onto Mike’s street. Just a few doors down from her house is definitely the party house. Kids on the lawn, lights flashing and music blasting.

“Pulling in now,” 

Lucas giggles a little on the other end. “ _Okay. See you. I love you._ ”

Will isn’t sure if he wants to say it back, so he simply hangs up the phone; apparently a better option. 

The party is loud, and as he gets out of his car he thinks someone throws up a couple feet away from him. He pushes through and makes his way inside the house, which immediately overwhelms him.

The music is too loud, the lights are flashing too much and there’s _too many people._ If he doesn’t get himself (and Lucas) out of here soon he might actually die of anxiety.

Being short and looking for someone tall is not as easy as it sounds. Will is standing on his toes searching for either El or Lucas, and a couple times he even jumps to see over the sea of heads.

It takes a lot of sucking in his stomach and squeezing past the other kids, but he manages to get to the stairs; with only a couple wet patches from beer on his sweater.

He goes up to the door that looks like it would lead to the master bathroom, and he’s about to knock when he hears what sounds like _moans_ coming from inside the room. _Definitely_ not Lucas and El.

All the other doors upstairs seem to lead into a bedroom or laundry room, so finally Will stands in front of the final door. It’s quiet in there. He squeezes his eyes shut and knocks lightly.

“Who’s that?” A voice says. It’s a girl. _El._

“Will,” he says with a smile, “Can I come in?”

There’s no answer. Instead, the door opens, revealing El and Lucas. She’s holding him up, his entire body leaning against her. _Christ, he’s smashed._

“Hi, Lucas,” Will murmurs, just loud enough for him to hear. He helps El stand him up properly, shivering at the light brush of his fingers against his neck. Lucas hums after a second, lazily smiling.

“Hi, baby.”

El and Will, previously dragging Lucas out of the bathroom, freeze. Will’s face burns red, and El looks at him with eyebrows raised. He knows what she’s asking.

_What in the actual fuck was that?_

“Long story,” he huffs out, breathless once again. Lucas calling him baby was a little much. (He very much liked it but Lucas is still drunk so he’s not allowed to.) “I’ll tell you tomorrow?”

He suggests tomorrow mostly because they’ll all be in a relatively stable mindset tomorrow, definitely not because maybe tomorrow him being called baby will just be normal.

“You fucking better.” El sighs, continuing their trek down the stairs.

El helps them out to Will’s car, and helps Will shoves Lucas’ deadweight body (he’s pretty much passed out now) into the passenger seat. She mouths a quick _good luck_ to Will, who smiles at her as she heads back inside.

Lucas mumbles something, head resting against the window, as Will gets in the car with him.

“You okay?” Will asks. Lucas hums. “Want some music?”

Lucas’ face scrunches up in what looks like disgust. “Taylor Swift,”

“Taylor Swift?”

“I want Taylor Swift.” Lucas repeats. This isn’t a problem for Will, he loves Taylor Swift. Lucas, however, has never been a fan. Unless—

“Are you a closeted Taylor Swift stan?” Will laughs, hitting play on _1989._ He’s pulled out of the house, and they’re on their way home. _Home._

“Yup. Love her to bits. She’s in your playlist a lot.” Lucas says simply. He curls into himself a little, feet resting on the edge of the seat. His shoes will get it dirty, but right now Will doesn’t mind.

At first he thinks Lucas means Will’s personal playlist. When Lucas reaches forward and starts skipping through the songs like he knows them, he realizes he’s wrong.

Lucas is talking about the playlist he apparently has for Will.

“What, uh—” he chokes a little; Lucas has stopped on _You Are In Love,_ and he’s humming along, seemingly aware of the melody. He can’t even get the stupid question out.

Lucas changes the song a couple times, to _Lover_ or _You Belong With Me,_ but he always shifts back to _You Are In Love_ afterwards. 

Will has a crisis for most of the drive.

Lucas talks a bit, too, thankfully not about Will. Turns out drunk Lucas just needs people around him. (Sober Will is a bit like that, too.)

When they pull into the Byers’ driveway, Lucas seems surprised. “I don’t live here,”

Will snorts and turns off the car, cutting off the song (fucking _Enchanted_ ). “I know, Lucas. You’re sleeping over with me tonight.”

Will slams the door shut, making his way to Lucas’ side. God, he looks exhausted. Apparently telling someone you love them is pretty draining.

“Can we cuddle?” Lucas asks like it’s nothing once they’re both out of the car and on their way into the house. Will sighs loudly.

“Nope.”

Lucas is very heavy when he’s tired, so Will struggles greatly with getting him to his room. Lucas also doesn’t shut the fuck up when he’s drunk, so Will has to shush him multiple times. He eventually settles on covering his mouth with his hand, which seems to do the trick.

“You need the bathroom?” Will whispers just before they enter his room. Lucas pauses for a second, hiccups, and shakes his head. Will hums a little, hoists him up, and opens the door.

Lucas squirms out of his arms once the door is shut behind them, crawling onto Will’s unmade bed immediately. Will can’t help but grin. _Cute._

“Here, let me get your stuff off.” he says softly, making his way over to his bed. As he takes off Lucas’ shoes, then his jacket, Lucas looks at him with this expression on his face that leaves Will a little breathless.

When he starts to remove his jeans, he looks up at Lucas and just—stops. 

Lucas is staring at him, tears in his eyes, expression blank. And yet somehow— _somehow_ —Will can see the love. 

_He’s not bullshitting._

Will yanks his jeans down the rest of the way, folding them gently. Lucas’ eyes don’t leave him as he puts it on the pile with his jacket and shoes on his desk.

“Are you okay?” Will asks softly. He hesitates for a moment before rejoining Lucas by his bed. Lucas blinks, then nods.

He reaches forward to get Lucas under the covers, but then Lucas sits up.

Will barely has the reaction time (and the nerve) to lean back and cover Lucas’ mouth with his hand. 

_Lucas Sinclair just tried to kiss him._

_And he didn’t let him._

He’s a little impressed, if he’s honest. Lucas is drunk and clearly not thinking straight, so there’s no way Will would take advantage of him like that. 

But god, he really wants to kiss him.

“You should, um. Get some rest, yeah?”

Lucas frowns, laying down again. “Are you staying?”

Will doesn’t answer for a second. Is he?

“Of course.”

Lucas smiles and his eyes shut slowly. Whether it was his choice or not is unclear.

Will takes in a shaky breath and just looks at him for a second. 

_He’s so fucking beautiful._

Will is in love with Lucas. He knows he is, has for a very long time. 

But Lucas is in love with Will, too.

Will shudders as he crawls into bed, the feeling of being so close to Lucas overwhelming.

It’s _nothing_ compared to a second later, when Lucas rolls closer and wraps an arm and a leg around Will’s body.

_He’s going to fucking die tonight._

* * *

Will doesn’t die, thankfully. 

He doesn’t sleep either, though.

He passed out at 5AM, maybe, but the hours in between were spent staring at Lucas, freaking out because _his best friend is in love with him and he also tried to kiss him what the fuck._ (It doesn’t hurt that Lucas is super pretty.)

But then he woke up at 8AM, because that’s when he wakes up and his body refuses to sleep in. So, in short, Will is running on three hours of sleep and he’s a little high on love.

Lucas is still holding him. Their legs are sort of tangled together, cold skin against warm. His hands are holding Will’s shirt gently, which is very cute but he needs to get up; Lucas will need water and pain meds when he wakes up.

Getting out of Lucas’ surprisingly strong grip is a challenge. Will gently moves his hands first, settling them by his head. Their legs are almost like a puzzle. One wrong move will result in a cranky Lucas which is the only bad Lucas there is.

Will’s bottom lip is stuck between his teeth as he maneuvers his legs to separate himself from Lucas. He definitely moves a little too much a couple times, but thankfully Lucas doesn’t wake up so he calls it a win.

The first thing he does once he’s out of bed is use the washroom. Lucas might be his top priority right now, but Will Byers will _never_ not brush his teeth after waking up.

Joyce’s shifts on Saturdays start at 8AM, so she’s long gone. Jonathan hasn’t lived with them for a couple years, off at their third year of university. El seems to have stayed over at Max’s or Mike’s, so it’s just Will and Lucas in the house right now.

The thought scares Will, just a little.

He quickly grabs a glass of water and some pain medication for Lucas, hoping that when he gets back he’ll still be asleep.

Lucas is not asleep. He’s sitting up straight, holding his head and wincing a little.

“Hey,” Will says softly. Lucas looks over at him, and his features light up immediately. (Now that Will knows about _the thing,_ it’s a bit scary.) “Got you some water. And Advil.”

Lucas smiles at him and nods, gesturing for him to come sit down. Once they’re situated in a comfortable spot (Lucas leaning against the pillows, Will cross-legged in front of him) Will hands him his water and medication.

“Do I even wanna know what happened last night?” he asks with a laugh. He takes a large sip from the glass, then swallows the pill with ease. Will laughs a little, too.

_I don’t know, Lucas. Do you? I want you to know._

“Lots,” Will starts, slowly. Lucas is still a little sensitive, so he doesn’t wanna scare him with everything all at once. “You, uh, asked me to play Taylor Swift in the car.”

Apparently Lucas’ second best-kept secret, his face falls immediately. “No.”

“Oh, you absolutely did. Knew the whole album, too. You skipped until you got to _You Are In Love,_ which was a bit homophobic, you _know_ my favourite is—”

_You are in love._

_Lucas is in love._

_I’m in love with you. I’m so in love with you it hurts._

“Hello? Earth to Will? Obviously I was outed as a Swiftie. What else?”

Will blinks a couple times, lost in Lucas’ face. Fuck, he’s in love too.

“Um,” he croaks out. Lucas snorts and raises his eyebrows in a sort of _spit it out_ way.

“You said,” Will pauses again. His heart is racing. He can’t breathe. Lucas can tell, apparently, because he puts a comforting hand on his thigh that doesn’t help at _all._

“You said you’re in love with me.” he blurts out before his nerve is gone completely.

It happens quickly. One second they’re staring into each other’s eyes, Lucas’ hand on Will’s thigh, the next they’re averting gazes, bodies far apart.

“I’m not,” Lucas says quickly.

_Drunk words are sober thoughts._

“You’re not?”

Lucas can’t breathe now, either. It’s obvious. “Nope. Me being in love with my best friend? My perfect, gorgeous— _fuck!_ ”

Will breathes heavily through his nose, scooting closer to Lucas, who can’t back away. “You said you did, Lucas. If you’re not, and drunk you is actually that stupid, great. But if you are, please tell me. _Please._ ”

Lucas doesn’t say anything. Will frowns at him, then sighs.

“So that’s a no, then.” he breathes out. He sounds disappointed. He _is,_ but he didn’t want Lucas to know that. But now he does.

And that seems to have changed something.

“No,” he says quickly, “What, uh, what else did I say?”

Will inhales deeply. This is too fucking much. He crosses his arms and looks away.

“You said you always wanna kiss me. You said that when I’m helping you with your Ancient Civs stuff and then I smile at you, you wanna kiss me.”

Something in Lucas’ expression softens, almost as if he knows what Will’s talking about and _oh._ He does.

Silence. Will knows and Lucas knows Will knows.

It’s up to Will now.

“Lucas,” Lucas looks up at him, hands shaking. Will takes a deep breath and, “I love you too.”

There’s no reaction, which isn’t really what he’d been hoping for but it’s enough.

He bites down hard on his bottom lip, looks up at Lucas, then whispers, “You tried to kiss me last night,”

Lucas’ face falls again, “I’m sorry,”

Will laughs at that, and soon enough Lucas is too. As if he has anything to be sorry about after _that_ little confession.

“Do you wanna…try again?”

Neither of them have ever kissed a boy. Will’s never kissed anyone. They’re inexperienced and the angle is a bit weird, and Will’s not sure what to do with his hands, but it’s a kiss and they’re finally kissing so it doesn’t matter.

Lucas gently guides Will’s small hands onto his chest, settling his own, larger hands onto Will’s cheeks. They’re warm and perfect and this is perfect and Will is in _love,_ no question.

He’s in love with Lucas Sinclair.

So he tells him.

“I’m in love with you,” he whispers, pulling away just the slightest bit. Lucas sighs, warm against his mouth.

“I know.”

Will scrunches up his face and, as a sort of payback for the shit response, says, “You called me baby last night, too.”

Lucas’ eyes widen as Will giggles and grins. 

“Did you like it?”

Will decides kissing him again is a better answer than _yes._

Based on the way Lucas squeezes his face a little and kisses right back, he thinks he agrees.


End file.
